university 05 
ILLINOIS  LIBRA RY 

urbana-cham?™^ 


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University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/report1916publ 


Summary 


An  attempt  should  be  made  to  secure  agreement  as  to  classification  titles  in 
the  various  commonly  recognized  professions,  trades  and  occupations.  Subdivi¬ 
sion  should  not  be  too  minute. 

We  believe  it  unwise  to  attempt,  by  means  of  classification  of  positions,  to 
restrict  promotions  or  lines  of  promotion  within  narrow  limits. 

There  is  at  present  no  uniformity  among  commissions  as  to  subjects  and 
weights  of  examinations  for  similar  positions,  and  no  uniformity  as  to  methods 
of  examination. 

There  is  however  an  agreement  as  to  essentials  and  it  should  not  be  difficult 
to  arrive  at  a  fairly  uniform  application  of  the  principles  involved. 

Commissions  should  be  empowered  to  fix  age  limits  and  to  vary  same  when 
required. 

Rigid  requirements  as  to  local  residence  are  too  restrictive  in  some  cases. 
Commissions  should  have  control  over  the  matter. 

We  believe  that  commissions  should  be  authorized  to  require  fees  for  exam¬ 
ination  to  be  applied  with  sound  discretion. 

Examination  standards  should  present  a  degree  of  uniformity  for  similar  ex¬ 
aminations,  but  allowance  must  always  be  made  for  local  conditions. 

Minimum  prerequisite  qualifications  of  education  and  experience  are  desir¬ 
able  in  many  cases.  Examinations  above  the  grade  of  apprentice,  office  boy, 
junior  clerk,  etc.  should  always  include  “experience”  as  a  subject  for  rating. 

Examinations  for  unskilled  or  common  labor  positions  should  be  competi¬ 
tive  as  far  as  practicable,  the  rating  to  be  based  on  physical  or  practical  examina¬ 
tions,  or  both,  and  an  experience  rating. 

The  receipt  of  applications  for  common -labor  should  be  continuous,  if  the 
demand  warrants,  and  new  names  should  be  added  to  the  eligible  lists  at  fre¬ 
quent  intervals.  j 

The  use  of  oral  examinations  on  technical  or  practical  matters  is  to  be  dis¬ 
couraged  except  for  skilled  and  unskilled  labor,  and  in  other  cases  only  where 
it  is  evident  that  a  written  examination  is  positively  unsuitable. 

Oral  interviews  in  connection  with  experience  ratings  are  commended. 
They  should  be  given  the  most  careful  attention  and  used  more  frequently,  sub¬ 
ject  to  obvious  limitations.  {  . . 

We  advocate  physical  examinations  wherever  practicable  and  reasonable, 
h  such  examinations  to  be  made  by  physicians  in  the  employ  of,  or  designated  by, 
^  the  civil  service  commission  without  expense  to  the  candidate  or  for  a  nominal 
fee. 

Investigations  of  experience  statements,  and  of  character  are  in  some  cases 
indispensable.  Outside  sources  of  information  should  be  consulted  where  prac¬ 
ticable. 

Provisional  appointments  should  be  avoided  as  far  as  possible,  as  they  give 
d?  an  advantage  in  examination  to  the  incumbent,  and  also  discourage  competition. 

Genuine  cooperation  between  commissions  and  appointing  officers  will  lessen  this 
">  evil. 

New  positions  should,  wherever  possible,  he  filled  by  promotion,  and  the  ser- 
vice  recruited  in  the  lower  grades.  <. 

Commissioners  should  fed  greater  personal  responsibility  for  the  character 


3 


— \ 

.  \ 

and  ability  of  men  and  women  certified  for  appointment.  No  perso., 
certified  for  a  position  whom  commissioners  would  not  be  willing  to  employ 
the  same  capacity  in  their  private  business. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

That  the  Assembly  appoint  a  standing  committee  to  work  out  an  acceptable 
classification  scheme  and  minimum  prerequisite  qualifications. 

That  each  commission  represented  at  this  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  and  others 
to  be  designated  by  the  executive  committee,  or  otherwise  be  requested  to  study 
an  assigned  class  of  examinations  and  to  report  results  at  subsequent  meetings, 
with  recommendations  in  detail  as  to  standard  examinations,  and  methods  of 
rating.. 


NOTE:  The  Committee  regrets  that  conference  and  exchange  of  views  on  the  report  has  been  almost 
impossible  because  of  the  fact  that  the  members  'of  the  committee  are  so  widely  separated.  It  should  be  stated 
that  Mr.  Doty  and  Mr.  Whitman  do  not  fully  concur  in  what  is  herein  said  in  regard  to  examination  fees.  Mr. 
Doty  also  differs  on  the  matter  of  age  limits. 


> 


4 


Co-operation  Among  Civil  Service  Commissions  on 

Examination  Standards 


Inasmuch  as  the  first  and  most  important  function  of  a  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  is  to  select  the  best  available  persons  for  the  public  service,  cooperation  with 
a  view  to  agreement  as  to  examination  standards  is  of  vital  importance  to  this 
assembly. 

Believing  that  if  civil  service  commissions,  generally,  are  to  make  progress 
in  approximating  a  scientific,  selective,  competitive  system  there  must  be  agree¬ 
ment  at  the  outset  on  certain  broad  fundamentals  of  classification  and  examination, 
your  committee  submits  in  this  report  for  the  consideration  of  the  National  As¬ 
sembly  of  Civil  Service  Commissions:  ' 

(a)  A  statement  of  the  fundamental  principles  governing  classification  of 
positions  and  a  discussion  of  classification  of  the  service  so  far  as  such 
classification  is,  or’ can  be,  universal  in  its  nature. 

(b)  A  discussion  of  the  fundamental  principles  governing  examinations. 

(c)  Model  examinations  for  selected  classification  units. 

(d)  Recommendations  for  cooperative  studies  and  experiments  or  investiga¬ 
tions  through  the  work  of  committees,  or  otherwise. 


(A)  CLASSIFICATION : 

We  find  here  and  there  in  all  administrative  organizations  certain  positions 
requiring  experience  within  a  department  to  insure  familiarity  with  local  condi¬ 
tions,  laws  and  practices.  It  would  be  futile  at  this  time  to  discuss  the  classifica¬ 
tion  of  such  specialized  departmental  positions,  which  as  a  rule  are,  or  should  be, 
filled  by  promotion  from  the  ranks,  but  our  inability  to  come  to  any  agreement 
as  to  the  classification  of  such  specialized  positions  should  not  prevent  coopera¬ 
tion  as  to  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  services  common  to  the  various  states 
and  municipalities. 

There  is  lack  of  uniformity  among  commissions  in  the  use  of  such  terms  as 
“division”,  “class”,  “rank”,  “grade”  and  “group”.  We  are  of  the  opinion  that 
there  is  no  occasion  for  subclasses  or  ranks  in  the  service  and  that  a  classification 
for  examination  purposes  should  contain  an  enumeration  of  classes  and  grades 
only.  We  see  no  material  advantages  arising  from  an  artificial  classification  of 
the  service  into  large  divisions,  such  as  “agricultural  service”,  “custodial  ser¬ 
vice”,  “inspectional  service”,  “professional  service”,  “investigational  service”,  “ar¬ 
tisan  or  mechanical  service”,  “skilled  trades”,  etc.  Such  a  classification  brings 
into  juxtaposition  unrelated  employments.  It  does  not  materially  assist  in  estab¬ 
lishing  standardized  salary  schedules,  nor  does  such  a  classification  serve  as  a 
final  determining  factor  in  establishing  lines  of  promotion  or  in  limiting  the  num¬ 
ber  of  required  open  competitive  examinations.  We  think  that  the  grouping  of 
employment  by  divisions  serves  no  good  purpose  whatsoever.  We  believe: 

(a)  That  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  secure  agreement  as  to  classification-titles 
in  the  various  commonly  recognized  professions,  trades  and  occupations. 

(b)  That  all  employments  in  a  direct  line  of  natural  promotional  gradation 
should  be  arranged  by  grades  under  a  common  title  or  class. 

(c)  That  classes  should  be  arranged  alphabetically  and  identified  or  numbered 
in  accordance  with  some  established  expansive  classification  scheme,  such 
as  the  Cutter  Alfabetic  Order  List.  Each  class  should  be  divided  into  grades 


5 


according  to  the  relative  importance  of  the  duties,  responsibilities  and  re¬ 
quired  preliminary  qualifications,  the  grade  representing  one  or  more  groups 
of  closely  allied  services  and  equivalent  as  to  monetary  value. 

(d)  We  should  abandon  any  attempt  by  means  of  classification  of  positions  to  re¬ 
strict  promotions  within  narrow  limits.  Promotional  rights  by  examination 
should  be  extended  to  all  persons  within  a  department  satisfying  the  prelim¬ 
inary  requirements  laid  down  in  the  open  competitive  examination  for  the 
same  position,  or,  in  the  discretion  of  the  commission,  to  all  persons  in  the 
service  satisfying  such  requirements. 

CLASSIFICATION  is,  by  definition:  “The  act  or  process  of  arranging 
by  classes;  the  putting  together  of  like  objects  or  facts  under  a  common  designa¬ 
tion;  a  process  based  on  similarities  of  nature,  attributes  or  relations.” 

To  apply  this  to  the  great  body  of  positions  in  a  governmental  organization, 
we  must  have  clearly  in  mind  the  purpose  of  the  classification  and  the  end  to  be 
attained  by  it.  The  objects  of  a  classification  are: 

First — To  put  together  in  units  all  positions  in  the  service,  the  performance 
of  whose  duties  requires  similar  qualifications  and  abilities,  and  to  give  these  units 
titles  that  most  nearly  describe  the  duties  of  the  positions  coming  within  them,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  the  Civil  Service  Commission  a  clear  conception  of  the 
employment  needs  of  the  organization  it  has  to  serve. 

Second — To  give  a  description  or  a  typical  illustration  of  the  specific  duties 
of  each  unit,  so  that  a  clear  conception  may  be  had  of  the  requirements  of  the  po¬ 
sition  or  positions  falling  within  that  unit.  This  description  should  be  accompanied 
by  a  list  of  qualifications  necessary  to  the  successful  performance  of  those  duties, 
together  with  a  notation  of  the  compensation  to  be  paid. 

Third — To  set  forth  clearly  the  natural  promotions  that  may  be  looked  for¬ 
ward  to  by  persons  falling  within  any  unit  of  the  classification  where  the  pro¬ 
motion  depends  upon  a  greater  experience  and  a  higher  degree  of  proficiency  in 
that  line  of  work.  Promotion  to  any  other  line  of  work  must  always  be  at  the 
selection  of  the  employee  and  must  be  provided  for  in  the  requirements  of  the 
position  to  which  promotion  is  sought. 

Fourth — To  provide,  for  the  information  of  the  general  public  and  employees 
in  the  service,  a  convenient  summary  of  the  various  kinds  of  employments  in  the 
service;  the  qualifications  necessary  for  appointment  thereto;  the  compensation 
paid;  and  the  promotion  that  may  be  anticipated. 

The  following  form  of  classification  has  been  worked  out  to  fulfill  the  above 
purposes. 

The  service  is  divided  into  classes  of  employment,  each  class  representing 
positions  the  duties  of  which  require  the  same  or  similar  qualifications  and  abili¬ 
ties.  A  new  class  shall  be  created  only  when  the  duties  to  be  performed  are  so 
different  from  the  duties  of  any  other  class  that  an  essentially  different  test  of 
qualifications  and  abilities  is  necessary. 

Each  class  is  divided  into  grades  based  upon  the  relative  importance  of  the 
duties,  the  degree  of  responsibility  they  impose,  and  the  amount  of  previous  ex¬ 
perience  necessary  to  their  proper  performance.  A  higher  grade  should  be  estab¬ 
lished  only  when  the  duties  to  be  performed  warrant  a  special  determination  of 
the  capacity  and  ability  of  the  persons  who  are  to  perform  the  duties  in  that  higher 
grade. 

The  classes  established  are  arranged  alphabetically  by  titles  and  are  identified 
by  C.  A.  Cutter’s  “Alfabetic-order  Table.”  Following  are  typical  classes  ar¬ 
ranged  in  this  order: 


6 


A  172 — ACCOUNTANTS 

This  class  covers  those  offices  or  employments  in  which  the  incum¬ 
bents  are  required  to  analyze  and  interpret  evidence  of  transactions,  to  re¬ 
port  on  the  accuracy  and  significance  of  records  and  accounts  and  the  justice 
of  claims,  to  devise,  install  and  supervise  business  procedures,  financial  and 
auditing  methods,  records  and  documents,  and  to  collect  and  interpret  physi¬ 
cal  and  operating  data. 

GRADE  I— ACCOUNTING  ASSISTANT  (A  172-1) 

Duties — 

The  duties  of  incumbents  of  these  positions  are  to  perform,  under  super¬ 
vision,  detail  work  connected  with  making  audits,  examinations  and  investi¬ 
gations  of  records  or  accounts. 

Examples : 

Verifying  extensions  and  footings. 

Taking  and  checking  trial  balances. 

Qualifications — 

1.  A  certificate  granted  on  the  completion  of  a  standard  course  of  instruc¬ 
tion  in  accountancy  in  an  accounting  school  of  recognized  standing,  or  proof 
of  other  training  in  accountancy  recognized  by  the  Civil  Service  Commis¬ 
sion  as  the  equivalent,  but  not  necessarily  any  experience  in  accountancy  other 
than  that  which  is  incident  to  the  attainment  of  these  qualifications. 

2.  Such  additional  qualifications  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

Compensation — 

Range  of  annual  compensation. 

Salary  rates. 

GRADE  II — I  UNI  OR  ACCOUNTANT  (A  172-2) 

Duties — 

• 

The  duties  of  incumbents  of  these  positions,  which  may  or  may  not  involve 
supervision,  are  to  execute  according  to  general  instructions  the  detail  work 
connected  with  audits  and  investigations  and  reports  thereon,  and  to  carry  on 
independently  audits  and  investigations  of  minor  scope. 

Examples: 

Analyzing  and  reconciling  simple  accounts. 

Verifying  registers  and  postings  to  controlling  accounts. 

Devising  forms  of  incidental  records. 

Qualifications — 

1.  The  minimum  qualifications  prescribed  for  Grade  1. 

2.  Not  less  than  one  year  of  experience  in  Grade  1,  or  if  appointed  other¬ 
wise  than  by  promotion  from  Grade  1,  in  work  of  the  character  and  stand¬ 
ard  of  Grade  1. 

3.  Such  additional  qualifications  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed 
by  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

Compensation — 

Range  of  annual  compensation. 

Salary  rates. 

GRADE  III— SENIOR  ACCOUNTANT  (A  172-3) 

Duties — (To  be  filled  in) 


7 


Qualifications — (To  be  filled  in) 

Compensation — (To  be  filled  in) 

E  57 — ENGINEERS  (Professional) 

This  class  covers  those  offices  or  employments  in  which  the  incumbents  are 
required  to  conduct  surveys,  to  prepare,  supervise  or  investigate  designs, 
plans,  estimates,  specifications  and  contracts,  or  to  construct,  operate,  main¬ 
tain  and  inspect  such  projects  and  works  as  highways,  bridges,  transportation, 
harbor  and  terminal  facilities,  buildings,  and  such  projects  and  works  as  are 
incidental  to  the  production,  distribution  and  utilization  of  light,  heat  and 
power,  the  collection,  purification  and  distribution  of  water,  and  the  collec¬ 
tion  and  disposal  of  sewage,  garbage,  snow  and  other  waste,  or  to  perform  ser¬ 
vices  in  organizing  and  reorganizing  administrative  units  for  which  training 
and  experience  in  engineering  are  conspicuous  qualifications. 

The  professional  training  and  experience  which  are  required  for  admis¬ 
sion  to  positions  in  the  various  grades,  and  the  specific  duties  of  incumbents 
of  these  positions  are  set  forth  in  the  several  grade  specifications  which  follow: 

GRADE  I— ENGINEERING  ASSISTANT  (E  57-1) 

Duties — 

The  duties  of  the  incumbents  of  these  positions  are  to  perform,  under  sup¬ 
ervision,  elementary  or  apprentice  work  in  field,  works  or  office  in  one  or 
more  of  the  specialized  engineering  branches. 

Examples : 

Using  surveying,  measuring  and  drafting  instruments,  engineering  tables 
and  diagrams. 

Inspecting  or  investigation  of  minor  details  of  engineering  work  and  ma¬ 
terials. 

Computing. 

Qualifications — 

1.  Such  training  in  civil,  mechanical,  electrical,  sanitary  or  other  engineer¬ 
ing  branches  as  is  evidenced  by  a  professional  degree  granted  on  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  a  standard  course  of  instruction  in  an  engineering  school  of  recog¬ 
nized  standing,  but  not  necessarily  any  experience  in  the  practice  of  engineer¬ 
ing  other  than  that  which  is  incident  to  the  attainment  of  such  qualifications. 

2.  Such  additional  qualifications  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed 
by  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

Compensation — 

Titles — Junior  Engineer  (E  57-2) 

Junior  Engineer  (Civil)  (E  57-2C) 

Junior  Engineer  (Mechanical)  (E  57-2  M) 

Junior  Engineer  (Electrical)  (E  57-2  E) 

Junior  Engineer  (Sanitary)  (E  57-2  Sa.) 

Duties — 

The  duties  of  incumbents  of  these  positions,  which  may  or  may  not  be  super¬ 
visory  in  character,  are  to  execute  definite  instructions  in  a  minor  division  of 
engineering  work  in  field,  works  or  office. 

Examples : 

Designing  or  examining  plans  under  supervision. 

Preparing  general  or  working  drawings. 


8 


Inspecting  or  investigating  engineering  work  and  materials. 

Making  computations  and  compiling  data  for  reports  and  cost  records. 
Directing  a  field  party  on  surveys,  construction  or  repair  work. 

Supervising  or  inspecting  minor  operating  works. 

Qualifications — 

1.  The  minimum  qualifications  prescribed  for  Grade  1. 

2.  Not  less  than  one  year  of  experience  in  Grade  1,  or  if  appointed  other¬ 
wise  than  by  promotion  from  Grade  1,  in  work  of  the  character  and  standard 
of  Grade  1. 

3.  Such  additional  qualifications  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

4.  — 

Compensation— 

Range  of  annual  compensation.  Salary  rates. 

GRADE  III  (E  57-3) 

Titles — To  be  filled  in) 

Duties — (To  be  filled  in) 

Qualifications— {To  be  filled  in) 

Compensation — (To  be  filled  in) 

N  974— NURSES 

The  term  Nurse  is  applied  to  those  offices  or  employments  in  which  incum¬ 
bents  are  required  to  perform  such  services  in  the  nursing,  care  and  treatment 
of  the  sick,  and  in  the  investigation,  reporting,  prevention  and  correction  of 
conditions  unfavorable  to  the  health  of  individuals  or  communities  as  may 
lawfully  be  performed  by  nurses. 

The  professional  training  and  experience  which  are  required  for  admission 
to  positions  in  the  various  grades  and  the  specific  duties  of  incumbents  of 
these  positions  are  set  forth  in  the  seevral  grade  specifications  which  follow: 

GRADE  I  (N  974-1) 

Titles — Nurse 

Field  Nurse 

Duties — 

NURSE :  The  duties  of  nurses  are  to  perform  under  supervision,  routine 
nursing  in  hospiltals  and  other  institutions  in  which  routine  nurs¬ 
ing  is  not  performed  by  pupil  nurses,  or  to  supervise  and  be  responsible 
for  the  nursing  work  performed  in  a  hospital  ward  by  pupil  nurses  or  other 
helpers. 

Examples : 

Executing  in  person  the  orders  of  physicians  or  superiors  in  the  care  and 
treatment  of  patients  or  inmates. 

Supervising  routine  nursing  work  in  a  ward  in  which  routine  nursing  work 
is  performed  by  pupil  nurses  or  other  helpers. 

FIELD  NURSE:  The  duties  of  Field  Nurses  are  to  perform,  under  su¬ 
pervision,  such  definite  details  of  field  nursing  or  social  service  work  as  may  be 
required  in  the  investigation,  -reporting,  prevention  and  correction  of  diseases 
or  conditions  unfavorable  to  the  health  or  welfare  of  individuals  or  communi¬ 
ties,  or  to  supervise  small  units  of  field  nursing  work. 

Examples : 


9 


Supervising  the  health  of  school  children  and  visiting  the  homes  of  parents 
to  secure  treatment  for  children  requiring  treatment  or  care. 

Investigating  and  reporting  cases  of  communicable  diseases. 

Visiting  the  homes  of  the  sick  to  provide  nursing  care  or  to  assist  in  their 
social  betterment. 

Investigating  conditions  or  circumstances  attending  the  birth  of  children. 
Visiting  midwives  to  examine  their  equipment  and  methods. 

Acting  as  nurse  in  charge  of  branch  office  or  clinic  in  the  Bureau  of  Pre¬ 
ventable  Diseases  of  the  Department  of  Health. 

Qualifications — 

1.  A  certificate  or  license  to  practice  as  a  registered  nurse  issued  by  the 
proper  authorities  of  the  state. 

2.  Such  additional  qualifications  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  prescribed  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

3. — 

C  o  mp  ensatio  n — 

NURSE: 

Range  of  annual  compensation — 

Salary  rates — 

FIELD  NURSE: 

Range  of  anuual  compensation — 

Salary  rates — 


REPORT  OF  NEW  YORK  SENATE  COMMITTEE  ON  CIVIL  SERVICE 

LACK  OF  UNIFORMITY 

It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to  quote  from  the  first  report  (1916)  of  the 
Committee  on  Civil  Service  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  New  York  appointed  to 
investigate  the  civil  service  of  the  state,  with  particular  reference  to  salaries, 
grades,  and  duties  of  officers  and  employees.  Following  is  a  statement  regarding 
multiplicity  of  fictitious  and  unnecessary  titles  (see  page  XVI)  : 

“According  to  standards  developed  after  investigation  and  submitted  as 
part  of  this  report,  there  are  approximately  943  fictitious  or  unnecessary  titles 
in  the  State  service  to-day.  These  irregular  titles  may  be  grouped  according 
to  the  general  class  of  work  performed  thereunder. 

Titles  are  now  used  to  designate  employments  for  the  purpose  of  civil  ser¬ 
vice  and  budget  control.  A  title,  as  construed  by  law,  indicates  not  only  the 
relative  rank  and  importance  of  an  employe's  status,  but  also  the  scope  of  his 
employment  and  constitutes  the  restrictions  or  limitations  beyond  which  he  may 
refuse  to  work.  An  improper  title,  because  of  its  legal  as  well  as  its  institutional 
significance,  almost  invariably  spells  waste. 

The  following  illustrations  summarize  the  result  of  this  looseness  of 
practice : 

Employes  performing  miscellaneous  (as  opposed  to  technical  or  special¬ 
ized)  clerical  work  of  a  standard  which  would  reasonably  warrant  compensa¬ 
tion  of  from  $540  to  $7 80  per  anuum,  and  which  should  be  classified  under  one 
standard  title,  are  now  receiving  a  variety  of  salary  rates  from  $360  to  $1,500 
per  annum,  under  30  different  titles,  some  of  which  are  as  misleading  as  the 
rates  of  compensation  are  unsound. 

Employes  performing  miscellaneous  clerical  work  of  the  next  higher  grade 
which  would  reasonably  warrant  an  annual  compensation  of  from  $840  to 


10 


$1,200  per  annum,  and  which  should  be  classified  under  one  standard  title,  are 
now  receiving  a  variety  of  salary  rates  from  $600  to  $2,700  per  annum,  under 
98  titles. 

Employes  performing  miscellaneous  clerical  work  of  the  next  higher  grade, 
which  would  reasonably  warrant  a  compensation  of  from  $1,320  to  $1,800  per 
annum,  and  which  should  be  classified  under  one  standard  title,  are  now  receiv¬ 
ing  from  $1,080  to  $3,500  per  annum,  under  83  distinct  titles. 

These  irregularities  of  title,  while  striking,  typify  the  present  practice.  Like 
the  irregularities  of  compensation  they  reflect  a  disregard  of  efficient  methods 
of  administration  and,  having  continued  over  a  period  of  years,  have  resulted 
in  an  accumulation  of  obsolete  practices.  In  this  connection,  attention  should 
be  called  to  the  difficulties  and  disadvantages  under  which  department  heads 
often  work.  They  are  frequently  so  absorbed  with  large  administrative  policies 
of  their  departments  that  they  have  little  or  no  time  to  consider  details  of  per¬ 
sonnel  adjustment.  They  are  compelled  of  necessity  to  leave  many  of  these 
problems  to  subordinates  who,  in  turn,  have  grown  so  accustomed  to  established 
departmental  methods  and  traditions  that  they  seldom  initiate  changes  to  meet 
new  conditions  or  improve  departmental  practice.” 

(B)  EXAMINATIONS : 

Fundamental  principles  underlying  competitive  examinations : 

(1)  In  order  to  insure  the  adoption  of  effective  selective  methods,  examiners 
must  make  a  preliminary  intensive  study  of  the  duties  of  the  position  to  be  filled; 
must  visualize  the  job,  and  must  have  a  definite  conception  of  the  ideal  man  for  the 
job.  We  recommend  the  general  use  of  some  such  form  as  the  following  now  in 
use  by  the  California  State  Commission. 

FUNCTIONS  AND  DUTIES  OF  THE  POSITION  OF 
Title  of  position 

Class  Grade  Salary  Limits 

List  the  duties  of  the  position  under  the  following  heads: 

I.  DUTIES  WHICH  ARE  PURELY  MECHANICAL  OR  ROUTINE 

IN  NATURE: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

II.  DUTIES  WHICH  REQUIRE  SOME  SKILL  AND  ACCURACY: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

III.  DUTIES  WHICH  REQUIRE  SOME  SKILL  AND  ACCURACY 

AND  EXPERIENCE: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

IV.  DUTIES  WHICH  REQUIRE  EXPERIENCE  AND  ABILITY  AND 

INVOLVE  FIXED  RESPONSIBILITY: 

a. 

b. 


11 


V.  DUTIES  WHICH  ARE  SUPERVISORY,  INVOLVING  INDE¬ 
PENDENT  JUDGMENT  AND  ACCOUNTABILITY  FOR  THE 
WORK  OF  OTHERS,  OR  WHICH  ARE  NOT  SUPERVISORY  BUT 
REQUIRE  JUDGMENT  AND  INDEPENDENT  ACTION: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

VI.  DUTIES  WHICH  REQUIRE  A  HIGH  ORDER  OF  SPECIAL¬ 
IZED  KNOWLEDGE,  EXPERIENCE  AND  ABILITY,  BUT 
WHICH  ARE  NOT  NECESSARILY  SUPERVISORY,  OR  WHICH 
ARE  SUPERVISORY  BUT  OF  A  HIGHER  ORDER  THAN  V: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

VII.  DUTIES  WHICH  MAY  OR  MAY  NOT  BE  SUPERv  ISORY  AND 
WHICH  REQUIRE  RECOGNIZED  EXPERT  KNOWLEDGE 
AND  SPECIAL  EXPERIENCE  AND  ABILITY: 

a. 

b. 

c. 

VIII.  DUTIES  WHICH  ARE  ADMINISTRATIVE,  INVOLVING  RE¬ 
SPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE  WORK  OF  AN  ENTIRE  DEPART¬ 
MENT. 

a. 

b. 

c. 

Note:  Mark  with  a  star  (*)  those  duties  which  are  only  occasional,  that  is,  re¬ 
curring  only  every  six  months  or  so. 

(2)  Prior  to  holding  an  examination,  the  statement  of  duties  and  prerequisite 
qualifications  must  be  carefully  compared  with  the  proposed  examination  scheme, 
and  such  scheme  must  satisfy  the  end  desired. 

(3)  A  written  examination  should  be  given  in  all  cases  where  the  knowledge, 
ability  or  skill  of  candidates  can  be  determined  thereby. 

(4)  Weight  should  be  given  to  the  written  examination  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  fitness  can  be  determined  by  that  means. 

(5)  No  question  should  be  asked  in  a  written  examination  if  there  is  any 
doubt  as  to  its  value  in  ascertaining  fitness.  Each  question  should  involve  some 
specific  test  not  already  covered;  otherwise  the  question  is  unnecessary. 

(6)  If  it  is  desired  to  apply  experimental  tests,  they  should  be  given  little  or 
no  weight  until  their  effectiveness  has  been  determined. 

(7)  The  emphasis  in  all  written  examinations,  as  far  as  possible  should  be 
upon  ability  to  think,  to  reason  and  to  do,  and  the  use  of  memoriter  tests  should  be 
discouraged. 

(8)  The  inclusion  of  all  possible  desirable  kinds  of  knowledge  in  a  written 
examination  tends  to  blur  the  result.  Emphasis  should  be  placed  on  the  quality 
and  not  on  the  quantity  of  an  examination,  and  the  tendency  should  be  in  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  effective  simplicity. 

(9)  An  oral  examination  should  be  required  only  when  the  physical  senses 
are  to  be  tested,  or  when  we  must  determine  skill  or  ability  not  ascertainable  by 


12 


the  written  examination,  or,  as  in  examinations  for  labor  or  trades  positions,  where 
competitors  are  usually  able  to  express  themselves  better  orally  than  in  writing. 

(10)  An  oral  interview  of  candidates  who  are  successful  in  the  other  subjects 
of  the  examination  may  properly  be  required  in  all  examinations,  its  purpose 
being  to  reenforce  and  make  clear  the  statements ’made  by  the  candidate  in  his 
application  or  experience  paper  concerning  his  previous  education  and  experience, 
and  to  make  possible  the  formation  of  a  judgment  as  to  personal  qualifications 
when  such  are  deemed  to  be  essential  factors.  An  oral  interview  enables  the  ex¬ 
aminer  to  give  a  qualitative  rating  to  experience,— that  is  to  say,  to  give  the  pre¬ 
vious  conduct,  service  and  training  of  a  candidate  its  true  value;  or,  if  it  fails 
to  do  that,  it  suggests  a  more  intelligent  inquiry  of  former  employers.  When  the 
conclusions  reached  in  an  oral  interview  are  reenforced  or  modified  by  reports  from 
former  employers  a  dependable  rating  for  experience  can  be  given. 

(11)  Practical  tests:  The  weight  to  be  given  the  practical  test  in  the  skilled 
trades  must  depend  upon  the  degree  to  which  the  test  will  yield  dependable 
conclusions  as  to  the  relative  competency  of  candidates.  If  the  test  is  short  and 
limited  in  scope,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  give  too  great  weight  to  the  conclu¬ 
sions  reached. 

(12)  It  would  be  very  interesting  if  records  of  performance  of  persons  ap¬ 
pointed  from  lists  could  be  checked  back  to  examination  results  to  determine  in 
what  respects  the  examination  succeeded  or  failed. 

(C)  MODEL  EXAMINATIONS  FOR  SELECTED  CLASSIFICATION 
UNITS  : 

Attached  to  this  report  will  be  found  a  questionnaire  prepared  by  the  com¬ 
mittee  and  sent  to  all  Civil  Service  Commissions  in  the  country.  While  most  of 
the  smaller  commissions  have  failed  to  send  in  replies,  a  number  of  the  larger 
commissions  have  very  carefully  replied  in  detail,  giving  the  committee  valuable 
information. 

These  questions  were  asked  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  practice  of 
various  commissions  as  to  examinations.  We  find  that  there  is  no  uniformity  of 
practice  in  any  respect.  Preliminary  requirements  as  to  residence,  age,  education 
and  experience  differ  in  the  various  jurisdictions,  nor  is  there  any  uniformity  in 
the  schemes  of  examination  used  for  similar  positions.  For  instance,  one  State 
Commission  in  its  most  recent  clerical  examination  included  nine  separate  subjects, 
while  the  commission  of  one  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  United  States  includes 
only  four  subjects  in  its  lower  grade  clerical  examination.  The  former  includes 
an  experience  rating  with  a  relative  weight  of  three-tenths;  the  latter  does  not 
give  any  experience  rating. 

Out  of  thirteen  of  the  larger  commissions  reporting,  ten  give  an  experience 
rating  with  a  relative  weight  varying  from  one-tenth  to  four-tenths.  Three  com¬ 
missions  give  no  experience  rating.  Out  of  these  ten  commissions  giving  experi¬ 
ence  ratings  five  give  oral  interviews  in  connection  with  the  rating  and  five  do  not. 

The  same  lack  of  uniformity  is  found  in  examinations  for  the  lower  grade 
engineering  positions  although  the  differences  are  not  so  marked.  For  example, 
one  city  in  an  examination  for  civil  engineer  on  street  improvements  included  the 
following  subjects  and  relative  weights:  Spelling,  5;  composition,  5;  penmanship, 
5;  mathematics  and  practical  questions,  55;  experience,  30.  Total  weights,  100 
The  majority  of  commissions  reporting,  however,  give  a  written  examination  on 


13 


the  duties  of  the  position  with  a  weight  of  from  five-tenths  to  seven-tenths,  and  an 
experience  rating,  weight  five-tenths  to  three-tenths. 

The  New  York  City  Commission  is  the  only  one  reporting  which  gives  a 
physical  examination  for  all  positions.  This  Commission  has  carefully  worked 
out  physical  standards  for  every  position  appearing  in  the  classification;  medi¬ 
cal  examiners  regularly  employed  by  the  commission  examine  all  candidates  who 
must  measure  up  to  the  standard  requirements. 

Four  other  commissions  require  the  execution,  by  a  physician  of  the  candi¬ 
date’s  selection,  of  a  medical  certificate  on  the  application  blank.  The  eight  other 
commissions  have  no  requirements  as  to  physical  or  medical  examination. 

Eight  commissions  report  the  use  of  confidential  inquiries  regarding  character, 
habits  and  ability,  in  connection  with  clerical  examinations,  while  five  do  not. 

SKILLED  TRADE  EXAMINATIONS 

With  regard  to  examinations  for  the  skilled  trades  the  same  differences  are 
noted.  One  city  commission  uses  the  following  subjects  and  weights  in  the  exam¬ 
ination  for  carpenter:  Arithmetic,  10;  practical  questions,  30;  practical  test,  30; 
experience,  30.  Out  of  nine  commissions  reporting,  only  one,  the  United  States 
Commission,  omits  the  practical  test  entirely;  the  reason  is  obvious;  it  is  practically 
impossible  to  conduct  practical  tests  all  over  the  United  States.  The  remaining 
eight  commissions  reporting  give  practical  tests  in  the  skilled  trades  examina¬ 
tions  with  a  weight  varying  from  one-tenth  to  four-tenths.  Physical  condition  is 
rated  in  these  examinations  by  five  out  of  seven  commissions,  while  all  commis¬ 
sions  except  New  York  City  give  a  rating  for  experience.  In  New  York,  labor 
positions  are  not  filled  by  competition  but  by  registration  after  a  practical  test  in 
which  oral  questions  may  be  asked,  but  no  experience  rating  is  given. 

COMMON  LABOR 

Six  commissions  reported  on  examinations  for  unskilled  laborers;  of  these, 
one  commission,  New  York  City,  bases  relative  standing  solely  on  registration’ 
that  is,  on  priority  of  application;  this  is  due  to  the  provisions  of  the  general  civil 
service  law  of  New  York  State.  Four  other  commissions  give  a  physical  examin¬ 
ation  for  laborer  with  a  weight  of  from  five-tenths  to  seven-tenths  and  an  experi¬ 
ence  rating,  weight  five-tenths  to  three-tenths;  in  Illinois  the  law  does  not  require 
eligibles  for  laborer  to  be  certified  in  any  particular  order  and  no  experience  rat¬ 
ing  is  given,  but  there  is  a  physical  examination  which  may  disqualify  candidates. 

CONFIDENTIAL  INQUIRIES 

With  regard  to  the  verification  of  experience  statements  by  the  use  of  inquir¬ 
ies,  confidential  or  otherwise,  there  is  great  difference  of  practice.  Here  again  we 
must  refer  to  the  New  York  City  Commission  which  maintains  a  specially  organ¬ 
ized  bureau  to  make  an  investigation  of  the  past  record  and  general  character  of  all 
eligibles  before  certification  for  appointmnet. 

With  regard  to  clerical  and  technical  examinations,  seven  out  of  the  ten  com¬ 
missions  giving  an  experience  rating  send  out  inquiries  and  three  do  not. 

AGREEMENT  IN  ESSENTIALS 

Although  it  is  established  that  no  two  commissions  do  business  on  exactly  the 
same  basis,  there  will  be  seen  to  be  a  general  agreement  on  essentials,  and  by  this 


14 


is  meant  that  practically  all  examinations  for  the  same  grade  of  positions  aim  to 
test  the  same  qualifications,  though  by  use  of  slightly  different  methods. 

For  instance,  in  all  clerical  examinations,  although  the  subjects  and  weights 
vary,  there  is  a  general  agreement  regarding  the  necessity  for  tests  in  spelling,  arith¬ 
metic  and  English  composition  and  penmanship.  So  also  in  technical  examina¬ 
tions  of  a  higher  grade,  experience  (including  education)  forms  one  of  the  subjects 
for  rating. 

In  other  words,  many  of  the  differences,  which  at  first  glance  seem  important, 
are  in  reality  merely  variations  in  matters  of  detail.  With  substantial  agreement 
in  essentials  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  fairly  uniform  application  of 
the  principles  involved. 

AGE  LIMITS 

In  connection  with  prerequisite  requirements  there  is  usually  a  minimum  age 
limit  fixed  by  the  rules  for  each  examination.  This  varies,  as  a  rule,  from  14 
years  for  pages  or  office  boys  to  21  years  for  the  great  majority  of  examinations. 
It  is  seldom  that  a  minimum  age  limit  higher  than  21  years  is  fixed  and  as  a  gen¬ 
eral  rule  we  believe  it  unwise  to  do  so,  yet  there  are  instances  of  positions  requir¬ 
ing  a  maturity  of  judgment  that  comes,  with  most  persons,  only  with  years 
Except  in  case  of  examinations  for  police  and  fire  departments  and  for  some  othei 
positions  requiring  considerable  bodily  activity  we  do  not  believe  it  wise  to  place 
an  arbitrary  maximum  age  limit  on  examinations,  since  the  rigid  enforcement  of 
such  a  limitation  becomes  difficult  in  the  face  of  popular  disapproval. 

Referring  to  the  clerk  examination  the  general  rule  is  a  mimum  age  limit  of 
21  years  with  no  maximum,  but  a  better  practice  would  seem  to  be  that  of  the 
United  States  and  the  New  York  State  Commissions  which  have  a  minimum  age 
limit  for  clerks  of  18  years  on  the  day  of  examination.  In  most  cases  it  would 
seem  the  better  practice  to  give  a  preferential  rating  for  preferred  ages,  the  latter 
to  be  specified  in  the  announcement  of  the  examination.  In  any  event  however, 
each  commission  should  be  empowered  to  fix  age  limits  for  examinations  as  the 
exigencies  of  each  case  may  demand. 

In  passing,  it  may  be  interesting  to  mention  that  Seattle  has  a  minimum  age 
limit  of  20  years  for  clerk.  In  New  York  City  the  age  limits  are  18  to  25  for 
second  grade  clerk  (salary  $600  to,  but  not  including,  $1200)  which  is  practically 
the  only  open  competitive  clerical  examination  given.  Seattle,  Washington,  and 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  have  maximum  age  limits  of  50  and  60  respectively.  In  Hous¬ 
ton,  Texas,  a  general  maximum  age  limit  of  45  years  was  recently  killed  by  char¬ 
ter  amendment. 


RESIDENCE  REQUIREMENTS 

In  a  number  of  cities  including  Houston,  Seattle,  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis 
one  year’s  residence  in  the  city  is  required.  New  York  State  requires  three 
months  residence.  In  some  other  jurisdictions  the  law  or  rules  require  only  actual 
residence  at  the  time  of  application. 

It  is  the  belief  of  your  committee  that  the  rigid  restriction  of  examinations  to 
residents  of  the  city  or  state  is  unwise.  Civil  service  laws  should  give  discretion 
to  commissions  in  this  matter.  Generally  speaking  a  residence  requirement  of 
from  three  months  to  one  year  is  reasonable,  but  each  commission  should  have 
power  to  waive  the  residence  requirement  entirely  when  the  situation  warrants. 
Such  a  situation  arises  in  case  of  high  grade  technical  positions  for  which  even 
the  entire  country  may  furnish  but  a  few  fully  qualified  candidates. 


15 


EXAMINATION  FEES 

The  new  Ohio  state  civil  service  law  approved  May  28,  1915,  is  the  first  to 
embody  the  requirement  of  a  fee  for  examination.  For  positions  paying  a  salary 
of  $600  up  to  $1000  per  year  the  fee  is  fifty  cents;  for  positions  paying  $1000  or 
over  the  fee  is  one  dollar.  There  are  two  justifications  from  requiring  a  fee;  first 
to  help  pay  the  expense  of  holding  examinations,  and  second  to  act  as  a  restriction 
on  competition.  The  first  reason  is,  in  our  judgment,  a  good  one  but  the  second 
does  not  apply  where  competition  is  already  limited  as  it  frequently  is  in  the  case 
of  special  and  technical  examinations.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  matrer  of  a 
fee  and  its  size  should  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Commission  who  would  apply 
the  restriction  where  desired  to  cut  down  the  number  of  competitors,  and  omit 
the  fee  where  desired  to  encourage  competition. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  practically  every  state  exacts 
a  fee  from  persons  taking  examinations  to  qualify  for  the  practice  of  the  licensed 
professions  such  as  medicine,  law,  dentistry,  pharmacy,  nursing,  etc.  In  New 
York  State  the  fee  for  the  bar  examination  is  $25.00;  for  examination  for  Regis¬ 
tered  Nurse,  $5.00,  etc. 

REQUIREMENTS  OF  EDUCATION  AND  EXPERIENCE 

Commissions,  as  a  rule,  have  been  averse  to  the  limitation  of  competition  by 
fixing  minimum  prerequisite  qualifications  and  in  following  this  principle  they 
have  been  correct.  Open  competition  means  just  what  it  says,  that  is,  that  civil 
service  examinations  should  be  free  for  all  within  reasonable  limits.  It  needs  no 
argument,  however,  to  show  that  examinations  for  entrance  to  the  police  force  of 
a  city  must  be  restricted  to  the  physically  fit,  and  this  is  held  to  mean  that  candi¬ 
dates  must  be  in  nearly  perfect  physical  condition,  sound  in  mind  and  body,  with¬ 
out  physical  defect  and  in  the  large  cities,  between  the  ages  of  21  and  35  years. 

By  analogy  it  might  be  shown  that  reasonable  restrictions  are  proper — even 
necessary,  for  each  examination,  and  among  the  reasonable  restrictions  are  those 
of  education  and  experience  for  a  large  class  of  positions  which  will  readily  occur 
to  you.  Particularly  do  we  advocate  the  limitation  of,  for  instance,  the  junior 
clerk  examination  to  candidates  who  have  at  least  completed  a  course  in  our  com¬ 
mon  schools.  States  and  cities  are  spending  enormous  sums  for  the  free  education 
of  the  youth  of  the  land  and  the  state  is  certainly  justified  in  insisting  that  those 
desiring  to  enter  its  service  shall  have  taken  advantage  of  its  free  educational 
facilities.  In  this  connection  you  are  reminded  that  certain  states  (e.  g.,  New 
York  and  Massachusetts)  have  been  consistently  advancing  the  requirements  of 
education  demanded  preliminary  to  the  study  of  the  professions  of  medicine,  law, 
pharmacy,  dentistry,  etc. 

EXAMINATION  STANDARDS 

In  approaching  the  subject  of  uniform  examinations  we  must  first  recognize 
certain  inevitable  limitations  upon  uniformity  however  desirable.  For  instance, 
oral  examinations  which  are  entirely  practicable  in  the  service  of  a  city  and 
which  can  also  be  made  use  of  to  a  limited  extent  by  State  Commissions  are  abso¬ 
lutely  impracticable  in  the  United  States  Service  unless  by  an  unwarranted  limita¬ 
tion  of  competition.  The  same  can  be  said  of  practical  tests. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  will  govern  to  some  ex¬ 
tent  the  application  of  age  limitations  and  other  preliminary  qualifications.  To 
illustrate;  the  last  general  clerical  examination  held  by  the  New  York  State  Com¬ 
mission  brought  out  four  thousand  applicants  notwithstanding  certain  preliminary 


16 


requirements  never  before  laid  down  such  as  (a)  grammar  school  education  and 
at  least  one  year  of  high-school  work  or  equivalent,  (b)  applicants  having  only 
one  year  of  high-school  work  were  required  to  show  at  least  three  years  office  ex¬ 
perience,  the  rule  being  that  applicants  must  have  had  at  least  four  years  com¬ 
bined  high-school  education  and  office  experience,  so  that  an  applicant  having  had 
three  years  high-school  work  would  be  required  to  show  one  year’s  office  experi¬ 
ence,  etc.  (c)  physician’s  certificate  of  good  health  and  freedom  from  physical 
defects  (use  of  eyeglasses  permitted)  (d)  two  letters  of  recommendation  from 
employers  or  teachers.  These  restrictions  were  considered  rather  severe  by  the 
public  but  they  seem  to  be  justified.  The  Chief  Examiner  estimates  that  without 
the  application  of  these  restrictions  the  number  of  applicants  would  have  been  100 
per  cent  greater,  or  eight  thousand,  since  in  the  last  previous  examination  (held 
in  1911)  there  were  three  thousand  applicants  with  the  age  limit  three  years 
higher  (21  years). 

The  last  general  examination  for  stenographer  in  the  New  York  State  ser¬ 
vice  brought  out  2,800  applicants,  and  the  last  examination  for  messenger  3,000. 
ft  is  evident  with  such  growth  of  examinations  that  some  means  of  restricting 
competition  must  be  found. 

STANDARD  EXAMINATIONS 


Having  laid  before  the  Assembly  some  consideration  of  the  matter  of  exam¬ 
ination  practice  we  come  now  to  the  most  difficult  matter  of  all;  the  recommenda¬ 
tion  of  standard  examinations.  First  as  to  the  clerical  service.  As  in  nearly  all 
jurisdictions  there  are  two  kinds  of  examination  held  (a)  junior  clerk  or  copy¬ 
ist  and  (b)  clerk,  senior  clerk  or  general  clerk,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  cleri¬ 
cal  examination  should  be  of  two  grades.  First  junior  clerk  or  copyist. 

I— MINOR  EDUCATIONAL  EXAMINATIONS ,  SUCH  AS  FOR 
CLERKS  AT  SALARIES  NOT  EXCEEDING  $1200. 

Junior  Clerk 
Prerequisite  Qualifications 

(a) .  Age  limits,  16  to  21  years. 

(b)  Education  not  less  than  common  school  (i.  e.,  grammar  school)  education 


or  equivalent. 

(c)  Examination  subjects  and  weights. 

1.  Spelling  2 

2.  Arithmetic  (fundamental  rules,  fractions  and  percentage)  2 

3.  Letter  writing  2 

4.  Penmanship  2 

5.  Copying,  rough  draft  2 


Total 

Senior  Clerk 
Prerequisite  qualifications 

(a)  Minimum  age  limit,  18  years. 

(b)  Education,  not  less  than  common  school 
equivalent. 

(c)  Examination  subjects  and  weights. 

1.  Spelling 

2.  Arithmetic 

3.  Report  writing 


(i.  e.,  grammar  school)  or 


1 

2 

2 


17 


V 


4.  Penmanship  1 

5.  Copying,  rough  draft  1 

6.  Education  and  experience  3 

Total  10 


The  rating  on  education  and  experience  should  wherever  practicable  be 
made  after  an  oral  interview  to  verify  statements  made  by  the  applicant  relative 
to  his  experience  and  education,  and  to  take  into  account  undesirable  personal 
characteristics,  habits,  etc.,  where  the  importance  of  the  position  warrants.  The 
whole  matter  should  be  further  verified  by  inquiries  directed  to  former  employers, 
etc. 

II— SPECIAL  AND  TECHNICAL  WRITTEN  EXAMINATIONS , 
SUCH  AS  FOR  CIVIL  ENGINEERS  AT  SALARIES  RANGING 
FROM  $1200  TO  $1500. 

(a)  Minimum  age  limit,  21  years. 

(b)  At  least  two  years  practical  engineering  experience  of  acceptable  quality. 
Graduation  from  an  engineering  course  in  a  school  of  recognized  standing  to  be 


counted  as  one  year’s  experience. 

(c)  Examination  subjects  and  weights. 

1.  Theoretical  and  practical  questions  5 

2.  Experience  3 

3.  Education  2 

Total  10 


III— SPECIAL  AND  TECHNICAL  EXAMINATIONS  WHERE  NO 
SET  EXAMINATION  OUESTIONS  ARE  ASKED ,  SUCH  AS 
FOR  CIVIL  ENGINEERS  AT  $3600. 

It  appears  to  the  committee  that  as  in  most  cases  these  are  specialized  positions, 
no  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down.  Each  case  must  stand  alone  and  be 
handled  according  to  the  best  judgment  of  the  commission  concerned.  It  seems 
however  that  such  examinations  might  generally  be  handled  according  to  one  of 


the  following  schemes : 

1.  Thesis  6 

2.  Experience  (including  oral  interviews)  4 

Total  10 

1.  Oral  examination  6 

2.  Experience  rating  4 

Total  10 


Unless  special  considerations  appear  the  age  limits  for  such  examinations 
should  be  21  to  60  and  such  education  and  experience  requirements  should  be  fixed 
by  the  Commission  as  the  case  seems  to  warrant. 

IV— SKILLED  TRADES 

(a)  Practical  questions  (oral  or  written)  and  tests 

(b)  Experience,  verified  by  inquiry  and  interview 

Total  ' 


4 

6 

10 


18 


An  age  limit  of  21  to  60  should  be  fixed;  preferred  ages  between  25  and  50 
years  with  preferential  marking. 

V— UNSKILLED  OR  COMMON  LABOR 

Laborers 

(a)  Physical  examination  5 

(b)  Experience  5 

Total  10 

The  age  limits  should  be  21  to  60.  The  physical  examination  should  be  simi¬ 
lar  to  that  given  in  the  U.  S.  Service  for  Post  Office  laborer  in  which  the  heart 
and  lungs  are  examined  and  the  candidate  is  examined  in  the  nude  for  external  de¬ 
fects  or  signs  of  disease.  A  muscular  test  is  given  in  which  the  candidate  is  re¬ 
quired  to  pick  up  from  the  floor,  and  shoulder,  a  bulky  bag  weighing  125  to  150 
pounds.  The  experience  rating  should  give  credit  for  previous  good  conduct  and 
satisfactory  service. 

There  are  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  keeping  up  a  satisfactory  list  of  el i - 
gibles  for  unskilled  laborer  and  this  is  particularly  true  if  examinations  are  held 
only  once  a  year.  We  believe  that  applications  for  laborer  should  be  received 
continuously  and  new  names  added  to  the  list  at  frequent  intervals,  the  list  being 
kept  on  a  running  card  index.  Names  should  not  remain  on  the  list  longer  than 
one  year  without  re-examination. 

Unskilled  or  common  labor  is  probably  the  most  difficult  matter  to  handle 
satisfactorily  in  the  whole  service.  As  this  class  of  “jobs”  receives  the  particular 
attention  of  the  ward  political  leader,  it  should  also  receive  the  careful  considera¬ 
tion  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  but  unless  labor  examinations  are  handled 
with  great  wisdom  and  practical  business  common  sense  they  are  liable  to  be  flat 
failures. 

The  labor  service  in  a  large  city  should  be  handled  in  an  office  entirely  sep¬ 
arate  from  headquarters  and  in  charge  of  a  person  who  can  give  his  entire  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  matter.  Eligible  registers  must  be  circularized  frequently  to  keep  in 
touch  with  eligibles  and  eliminate  dead-wood  from  the  lists. 

In  the  service  of  the  larger  cities  it  seems  almost  imperative  to  maintain  sep¬ 
arate  registers  of  eligibles  for  certain  kinds  of  work  such  as 
Laborers,  Dept,  of  Water. 

Laborers,  Dept,  of  Streets. 

Laborers,  Dept,  of  Parks,  etc. 

METHODS  OF  RATING 

One  of  the  most  important  services  that  can  be  rendered  to  the  various  Civil 
Service  Commissions  by  the  National  Assembly  is  the  preparation  of  standards  for 
the  rating  of  papers  and  tests  commonly  given  in  examinations  for  places  of  or¬ 
dinary  duties,  such  as  clerk,  bookkeeper,  stenographer,  messenger,  etc.  In  this 
connection  attention  is  called  to  the  handwriting  standard  prepared  by  the  Carne¬ 
gie  Foundation  which  is  an  example  of  what  is  very  much  needed.  Uniform 
standards  for  the  rating  of  arithmetic,  stenographic  and  typewriting  tests  would 
also  be  most  valuable. 

Examiners  understand  perfectly  that  whether  competitors  pass  or  fail  in  a 
given  examination  depends  altogether  upon  the  scale  of  rating.  In  this  regard 
your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  no  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down. 
Circumstances  over  which  Commissions  have  no  control  will  operate  against  the 


19 


application  of  a  uniform  and  rigid  rule.  For  instance,  much  depends  upon 
supply  and  demand.  Civil  Service  Commissions  are  in  a  sense  employment  agen¬ 
cies;  men  and  women  must  be  secured  to  do  work ;  if  the  best  qualified  candidates 
cannot  be  obtained  for  whatever  reason,  such  as  low  salaries,  institution  discipline, 
undesirable  location,  surroundings,  etc.,  we  must  nevertheless  secure  eligibles  for 
certification,  and  to  do  this  in  such  cases  we  must  make  examinations  easier  or  rate 
more  liberally  or  both.  On  the  other  hand  where  competition  is  abundant,  we  be¬ 
lieve  Commissions  are  justified  in  making  both  examinations  and  rating  more 
severe 

ORAL  EXAMINATIONS 

By  oral  examination  we  mean  question  and  answer  given  orally,  taken  down 
stenographically  and  transcribed  for  filing  with  the  candidate’s  papers.  We  be¬ 
lieve  that  this  form  of  examination  should  be  sparingly  used  in  case  of  all  exam¬ 
inations  above  the  grade  of  skilled  trades.  While  written  examinations  are  sub¬ 
ject  to  certain  limitations,  oral  examinations  are  subject  to  still  greater  limitations 
in  most  cases.  In  the  case  of  a  written  examination,  the  candidate  has  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  reading  over  his  question  paper  as  a  whole  before  beginning  to  answer 
the  questions.  He  usually  has  several  hours  in  which  to  reflect,  write  and  rewrite 
and  to  shape  his  replies  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  In  an  oral  examination  candi¬ 
dates  are  usually  nervous,  sometimes  to  such  an  extent  as  to  almost  preclude 
proper  answers,  and  the  candidate  has  little  or  no  opportunity  to  revise  and  cor¬ 
rect  his  replies. 

Oral  examinations,  however,  in  the  case  of  examinations  for  skilled  trades 
positions  may  be  wise  for  the  reason  that  those  who  apply  for  positions  of  this 
character  are  usually  men  of  limited  education,  not  able  to  express  themselves 
freely  and  fully,  and  because  of  lack  of  practice  in  handling  a  pen,  writing  is  a 
laborious  and  tedious  task.  For  instance,  candidates  for  machinist  or  fireman  may 
be  skillful  in  handling  a  monkey-wrench  or  shovel,  tools  which  they  handle  every 
day,  but  they  usually  find  it  very  difficult  by  the  use  of  a  pen  which  they  handle 
possibly  once  in  six  months,  to  express  what  is  in  their  mind  even  after  the  question 
is  thoroughly  understood  and  they  are  perfectly  able,  if  drawn  out,  to  give  a  full 
and  complete  answer.  In  these  examinations  it  would  seem  that  a  combined  oral 
and  practical  examination  and  experience  rating  is  the  ideal  form. 

ORAL  INTERVIEWS 

By  oral  interview  we  understand  oral  questions  and  answers  in  connection 
with  a  rating  for  education,  experience  and  personal  qualifications  or  any  one  of 
these,  not  necessarily  reported  stenographically.  We  believe  that  wherever  pos¬ 
sible  oral  interviews  should  be  given  in  connection  with  the  rating  of  these  qual¬ 
ifications,  particularly  in  case  of  examinations  for  positions  requiring  force,  judg¬ 
ment,  tact,  address  and  those  rather  indefinable  personal  characteristics  which  are 
necessary  in  certain  positions  requiring  the  appointee  to  deal  with  the  public  or 
to  repreesnt  his  superior  in  field  work. 

Replies  to  the  committee’s  questionnaire  indicate  a  general  adherence  to  the 
belief  that  oral  interviews  are  never  unwise.  It  seems  to  be  generally  recognized 
that  it  is  a  businesslike  proposition  to  call  candidates  before  an  examining  com¬ 
mittee  and  to  size  them  up  or  take  their  measurement,  having  in  view  the  duties 
and  requirements  of  the  position.  Oral  examinations  are  usually  conducted  by 
a  committee  of  three  on  which  committee  there  is  usually  one  or  two  representative 


20 


business  men  or  other  persons  selected  because  of  their  standing  in  the  community, 
business  experience  and  ability  to  size  up  men. 

There  is  a  considerable  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  appointing 
power  should  be  represented  at  the  oral  examination,  but  it  seems  to  us  that  the 
appointing  officer  should  be  allowed  to  suggest  the  names  of  three  to  five  persons 
from  among  whom  the  Civil  Service  Commission  may  select  one  to  act  on  the 
interviewing  committee.  The  Commission  should  be  represented  by  its  Chief 
Examiner  or  other  staff  representative,  and  the  third  member  should  be  an  out¬ 
sider  selected  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

Your  committee  also  believes  that  the  appointing  officer  or  a  representative 
of  his  office  should  be  allowed  to  be  present  at  the  oral  interview  merely  as  a 
spectator  without  taking  any  part  whatever  in  rating  the  candidates  so  that  the 
appointing  officer  may  have  an  opportunity  to  see  and  hear  the  candidates  and  to 
observe  the  manner  in  which  the  test  is  conducted.  Commissions  which  have 
employed  the  method  indicated  have  found  that  it  tends  to  give  appointing  offi¬ 
cers  greater  confidence  in  the  examinaton  and  its  results  and  it  affords  the  ap¬ 
pointing  officer  an  opportunity  to  see  and  hear  all  the  candidates  and  to  make  a 
comparison  when  the  entire  matter  is  fresh  in  his  mind. 

There  is  also  some  question  as  to  whether  such  an  interview  should  be  public 
or  semi-public.  It  seems  to  the  committee  that  such  oral  tests  should  not  be  abso¬ 
lutely  private.  Secret  methods  tend  to  give  rise  to  suspicion,  and  on  the  other  hand 
open  and  aboveboard  methods  give  confidence.  It  is  recognized,  however,  that  in 
most  cases  i.t  would  be  entirely  impracticable  to  invite  the  general  public  to  be 
present,  but  it  is  believed  that  persons  legitimately  interested  and  to  a  limited  ex¬ 
tent  should,  if  they  so  desire,  be  allowed  to  be  present  at  any  oral  examination  or 
interview. 

It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  what  we  have  said  as  to  the  desirability  of  oral 
interviews  must  be  qualified  by  saying  that  with  state  commissions  the  time,  labor 
and  expense  of  oral  interviews  are  prohibitive  except  in  connection  with  the 
most  important  examinations.  It  is  obviously  impossible  to  orally  examine  a 
thousand  candidates  in  a  clerical  examination,  and  as  to  other  examinations  such 
as  messenger,  stenographer  and  page,  the  benefits  gained  would  not  offset  the 
effort  necessary.  We  believe,  however,  that  city  commissions,  whose  candidates 
come  from  a  very  restricted  area,  can  arid  should  use  oral  interviews  freely. 

EXPERIENCE  RATINGS 

Ratings  for  experience  must  of  necessity  admit  of  some  elasticity.  It  is  not 
at  all  difficult  to  imagine  the  case  in  which  a  man  with  five  years’  experience  in  a 
certain  line  of  business  may  be  superior  to  another  man  with  ten  or  more  years' 
experience  in  the  same  line.  It  is  not  necessary  to  elaborate  this  thought.  The 
slightest  consideration  shows  that  is  is  a  fatal  error  in.  many  cases  to  give  a  fixed 
percentage  for  a  fixed  number  of  years  of  experience,  unless  this  latter  rating  can 
be  subsequently  tempered  by  adding  to  or  subtracting  from  because  of  superior 
ability  and  personal  qualifications.  It  is  in  connection  with  this  matter  that  the 
oral  test  plays  its  important  part  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  lack  of 
personal  fitness  should  reject  a  candidate  regardless  of  experience  and  technical 
qualifications.  This  matter  of  personal  fitness  is  of  necessity  an  evasive  thing,  but 
a  rating  on  this  element  may  be  defined  as  the  opinion  of  competent  men  of  a  can¬ 
didate's  ability  to  “handle  the  job.” 

It  must,  however,  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  experience  ratings,  based  on 
oral  interviews  or  otherwise,  are  frequently  the  objects  of  suspicion  by  the  public, 


21 


and  that  such  ratings  afford  an  easy  me'thod  of  showing  favoritism.  For  this 
reason  oral  examinations  and  interviews  must  not  be  secret  and  they  should  al¬ 
ways  be  conducted  by  men  of  recognized  high  character  and  probity  in  whose  judg¬ 
ment  the  entire  community  has  confidence.  The  report  of  the  oral  interview  must 
show  not  merely  the  examiners  judgment  but  the  facts  on  which  that  judgment  is 
based. 

PHYSICAL  QUALIFICATIONS 

Many  positions  require  walking,  stair-climbing,  night  work,  exposure  to  the 
weather,  and  some  times  involves  other  peculiar  requirements,  such  as  render  nec¬ 
essary  the  possession  of  a  considerable  degree  of  bodily  activity  and  a  good  “con¬ 
stitution."  In  all  such  cases  physical  examinations  should  be  had  hut  it  becomes 
a  question  of  expediency  how  far  they  should  be  extended  to  other  classes  of  posi¬ 
tions.  Some  commissions  are  making  a  physical  examination  of  all  candiates  so 
as  to  reject  those  evidently  not  physically  qualified,  and  there  is  a  tendency  to 
make  the  examination  sufficiently  minute  to  reject  candidates  giving  evidence  of 
disease  not  readily  determined,  such  as  heart  lesions,  incipient  tuberculosis,  brights 
disease,  etc. 

We  believe  that  the  subject  is  worthy  of  careful  study;  that  care  should  be 
taken  to  exclude  not  only  the  physically  unfit,  but  also  those  liable  to  become  unfit 
in  the  future  so  far  as  the  latter  can  be  determined  by  a  reasonable  examination. 
Certificates  of  family  physicians  or  others  chosen  by  the  candidate  himself  are  not 
always  to  be  relied  upon  and  we  favor  the  physical  examination  by  physicians 
designated  by  the  commission  and  without  expense  to  the  candidate,  or  for  a 
nominal  fee. 

INVESTIGATION  OF  CHARACTER  AND  EXPERIENCE 

There  is  general  agreement  among  commissions  as  to  the  desirability  of  se¬ 
curing  dependable  information  from  outside  sources  as  to  the  character  and  ex¬ 
perience  of  eligibles  before  certification  for  appointment,  but  there  is,  of  course, 
variation  as  to  methods  of  securing  such  information.  The  extent  to  which  inves¬ 
tigation  is  now  made  depends  somewhat  upon  the  character  and  importance  of  the 
position  to  be  filled.  In  many  of  the  smaller  cities  all  of  the  candidates 
in  some  examinations  are  personally  known  to  one  or  more  of  the  commis¬ 
sioners.  In  such  cases,  with  accurate  information  at  hand,  further  investiga¬ 
tion  would  seem  to  be  unnecessary,  but  in  other  cases  it  seems  imperative  that 
character  and  habits  be  properly  certified  as  well  as  technical  competency.  It  also 
seems  desirable  to  check  up  the  candidate’s  own  statements  of  experience. 

Your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  judgment  of  each  commission  must 
determine  in  each  case  the  extent  to  which  independent  investigation  should  be 
made  along  the  lines  suggested  but  it  is  also  apparent  that  where  the  number  of 
competitors  in  an  examination  is  large,  the  labor  of  investigating  each  applicant 
is  too  great  to  be  practicable.  It  would  seem  therefore  that  the  names  of  eligibles 
might  be  placed  on  the  register  conditionally — i.  e.,  subject  to  further  investigation 
before  certification  for  appointment.  This  plan  has  obvious  advantages  where  an 
eligible  list  may  be  held  in  force,  as  in  New  York  State,  from  one  to  four  years: 
an  investigation  made  three  years  before  certification  may  be  entirely  inadequate. 
Tt  is  suggested  that,  under  such  conditions,  investigation  of  eligibles  might  proceed 
from  time  to  time  so  as  to  keep  ahead  of  certifications. 

The  object  of  this  investigation  should  be  definitely  understood  to  be  to  qualify 
or  disqualify.  It  is  not  a  matter  to  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  percent- 


22 


age  rating  of  any  subject.  If  an  eligible  is  discovered  to  be  of  unsatisfactory  char¬ 
acter  or  habits  his  name  should  be  stricken  from  the  register;  the  same  result 
should  follow  the  discovery  of  a  false  statement  in  any  material  fact;  or  the  prac¬ 
tice,  or  attempt  to  practice,  any  deception  or  fraud  in  the  application  or  exam¬ 
ination  or  in  securing  eligibility  for  appointment. 

The  question  here  arises  as  to  whether  competitors  or  eligibles  have  the  right 
to  know  who  has  made  statements  derogatory  to  their  character,  and  whether 
they  (the  competitors)  shall  be  permitted  to  see  communications  from  former 
employers  and  others  with  reference  to  their  experience  and  ability.  In  some 
jurisdictions  it,is  held  to  be  the  right  of  candidates  to  have  all  such  information 
laid  before  them,  but  on  the  other  hand  there  may  be  a  reluctance  on  the  part  of 
employers  and  others  to  give  such  information  unless  held  confidential  between 
them  and  the  Commission.  Many  corporations,  in  fact,  refuse  to  give  inform¬ 
ation  regarding  present  or  former  employes  unless  the  latter  absolve  the  employer 
from  all  liability  for  any  statements  he  may  make,  by  signing  a  formal  legal  re¬ 
lease.  This  puts  on  commissions  the  additional  labor  of  securing  the  release  from 
the  competitor. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  committee  that  candidates,  disqualified  as  indicated, 
should  have  the  right  of  appeal,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  reasons  for  disquali¬ 
fication,  with  the  privilege  of  reviewing  all  statements  of  employers  and  others  as 
to  character  and  experience. 

PROVISIONAL  APPOINTMENTS 

It  seems  to  be  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  prevent  provisional  appointees  from  gaining  some  advantage,  slight  though  it 
may  be  in  most  instances,  over  other  competitors  in  the  open  competitive  examin¬ 
ation.  Where  provisional  appointees  are  serving  it  has  also  the  perhaps  more 
serious  tendency  to  discourage  competition  owing  to  the  knowledge  that  if  the 
provisional  appointee  obtains  a  standing  high  enough  to  secure  certification  he 
will  certainly  be  preferred  for  the  appointment. 

The  only  practicable  way  to  prevent  these  results  is  to  anticipate,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  needs  of  the  service  by  holding  frequent  examinations  to  establish 
registers  of  eligibles  appropriate  for  certification  to  fill  all  possible  vacancies,  and 
when  a  provisional  appointment  is  absolutely  necessary  to  hold  the  open  competi¬ 
tive  examination  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 

This  leads  us  to  express  the  opinion  that  there  are  seldom  urgent  reasons  for 
filling  a  vacancy  instanter.  If  appointing  officers  are  disposed  to  cooperate  with 
civil  service  commissions  in  this  respect  some  arrangement  can  usually  be  made 
by  temporary  assignment  of  someone  already  in  the  service  until  a  speedy  exam¬ 
ination  can  be  arranged.  If  cooperation  can  not  be  had  the  civil  service  commis¬ 
sion  should  allow  a  provisional  appointment  only  when  there  exists  an  urgent 
necessity  for  it  which  should  be  construed  to  mean  that  serious  harm  will  come  to 
the  service  and  that  the  interests  of  the  city  or  state  will  suffer  unless  the  pro¬ 
visional  appointment  is  allowed. 

APPROPRIATE  LISTS 

In  some  jurisdictions  the  civil  service  rules  require  the  filling  of  a  vacancy 
by  appointment  from  a  certification  from  the  most  appropriate  list  of  eligibles, — 
and  also  requiring  that  no  new  examination  shall  be  held  unless  there  is  no  “ap¬ 
propriate  list”  in  existence. 


23 


Practical  civil  service  men  all  over  the  country  well  know  the  feeling  of  ap¬ 
pointing  officers  that  a  new  examination  should  be  held  for  filling  every  vacancy, 
especially  where  some  showing  can  be  made  that  the  vacant  position  has  a  peculiar 
title,  a  few  peculiar  duties  or  seems  to  require  qualifications  not  tested  by  the  ex¬ 
amination  held  for  the  establishment  of  the  list  from  which  certification  is  pro¬ 
posed.  Instances  are  not  unknown  where  a  slightly  different  title  has  been  in¬ 
vented,  or  a  few  new  duties  imposed  on  a  position  in  order  to  make  it  appear  that 
the  eligible  list  is  not  “appropriate.” 

In  these  cases  as  in  most  others  a  middle  ground  must  be  sought.  Examin¬ 
ations  for  a  certain  class  or  group  of  positions  should  be  general.  It  would  seem 
unnecessary  to  hold  more  than  one  examination  for  clerical  positions  whether  the 
title  of  the  position  be  clerk,  index  clerk,  filing  clerk,  recording  clerk,  or  what 
not,  but  if  superior  penmanship,  for  example,  is  required,  commissions  should  be 
authorized  to  certify  from  the  existing  clerk  register,  in  their  order,  eligibles  with 
superior  qualifications  in  penmanship. 

This  leads  to  another  interesting  point.  Suppose  an  open  competitive  exam¬ 
ination  is  held  for  the  very  important  position  of  superintendent  of  an  institution 
with  a  salary  of  $3000  and  maintenance  for  the  superintendent  and  his  family. 
Sixty  candidates  pass  the  written  test  and  present  themselves  for  the  oral  inter¬ 
view.  Out  of  the  entire  sixty  it  is  found  that  only  six  have  the  education,  exper¬ 
ience  and  personality  to  warrant  certification  for  the  superintendency.  While, 
theoretically,  no  person  should  pass  this  examination  who  seems  unable  to  “handle 
the  job,”  yet  we  find  that  thirty  of  the  candidates  are  bright,  active  and  intelligent 
men  who  would  make  excellent  assistant  superintendents.  It  would  seem,  in  such 
a  case,  that  the  six  first  class  men  should  go  to  the  top  of  the  eligible  list  for  sup¬ 
erintendent  and  that  commissions  should  be  able  to  put  the  other  thirty  men  on 
the  list  for  certification  to  subordinate  institution  positions  such  as  assistant  super¬ 
intendencies.  Such  procedure  would  frequently  avoid  the  necessity  of  holding 
another  examination,  would  relieve  a  commission  of  considerable  effort  and  ex¬ 
pense  and  avoid  delay  by  immediate  certification  from  an  existing  list. 

In  the  practical  administration  of  civil  service  laws  and  rules  many  situations 
arise  which  call  for  the  exercise  of  judgment  and  discretion  on  the  part  of  com¬ 
missions,  but  is  not  that  why  we  have  commissions?  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that 
civil  service  laws  and  rules  can  be  so  perfectly  drawn  as  to  need  no  interpreta¬ 
tion,  else  the  business  of  a  civil  service  commission  could  be  carried  on  by  a  few 
subordinates,  and  when  the  “system”  has  become  so  refined  as  to  be  automatic, 
needing  little  direction  or  control,  there  is  serious  danger  of  its  falling  into  decay 
and  disrepute. 

PROMOTIONS  SHOULD  BE  ENCOURAGED 

The  opportunist  policy  of  creating  a  job  only  when  a  man  is  immediately 
needed  should  be  abandoned,  and  for  this  should  be  substituted  the  policy  of  de¬ 
liberately  planning  for  the  distant  future  by  making  liberal  allowance  for  the 
selection  and  training  of  persons  of  promise  for  positions  such  as  student  nurse, 
student  charity  investigator,  student  probation  officer,  apprentice  carpenter,  ap¬ 
prentice  plumber,  law  clerk,  hospital  interne,  junior  clerk,  etc.  For  all  important 
positions  there  should  be  an  understudy  in  training.  An  improvement  in  the 
methods  of  selecting  persons  for  the  lowest  grade  in  the  service,  with  promotion 
definitely  in  view,  will  result  in  placing  greater  emphasis  upon  entrance  exam¬ 
inations.  A  uniform  and  coherent  system  of  promotions  from  the  bottom  to  the 


24 


top  of  the  service  will  tend  to  encourage  and  influence  effective  supervision  and 
the  keeping  of  efficiency  records. 

We  believe  that  the  great  ends  of  efficiency  and  economy  will  be  better 
served  if  states  and  municipalities  will,  so  far  as  practicable,  limit  future  expan¬ 
sion  of  the  service  to  the  lowest  grades ; — that  is  all  higher  positions  newly  estab¬ 
lished  should  be  filled  by  promotion,  unless  it  is  evident  that  the  best  interests 
of  the  service  demand  a  different  course.  This  movement  should  enable  civil 
service  commissions  to  reduce  the  number  of  open  competitive  examinations  and 
to  increase  the  number  of  promotion  examinations.  At  the  same  time  careful 
attention  should  be  given  to  the  training,  instruction  and  development  of  persons 
in  the  service  in  lower  grades.  Earnest  consideration  should  also  be  given  to 
methods  of  selecting  persons  of  promise,  and  examinations  designed  to  discover 
capacity,  and  ability  to  learn  and  to  advance  in  the  public  service  must  be  de¬ 
veloped.  Such  a  policy  should  appeal  to  legislative  and  governing  bodies  be¬ 
cause  it  will  tend  to  prevent  rapid  increase  in  the  cost  of  government  generally, 
and  to  simplify  civil  service  procedure. 

It  has  become  a  trite  saying  that  the  exclusion  of  higher  positions  from  the 
competitive  class  tends  to  deaden  the  service.  When  young  men  of  ability  reach 
the  point  where  they  find  the  door  to  further  promotion  closed  they  seek  other 
fields  of  labor,  and  trained  employees  are  lost  to  the  service.  When  the  higher 
positions  are  open  to  promotion,  a  better  class  of  young  men  is  attracted  to  the 
service  in  the  lower  grades. 

FOR  MORE  PERMANENCE  OF  EXEMPT  POSITIONS— NEED  TENURE  IN 

IMPORTANT  POSTS 

The  following  quotation  from  the  report  of  the  New  York  State  Senate  Com¬ 
mittee  before  referred  to  is  of  interest  in  this  connection. 

“At  the  present  time  1,616  positions  within  the  so-called  classified  service  of 
the  State  administrative  departments  and  other  offices  are  filled  without  examin¬ 
ation  or  other  competitive  civil  service  requirements.  They  are  termed  ‘exempt 
positions.’  Many  of  these  are  positions  of  responsibility  requiring  such  technique 
and  training  that  the  highest  degree  of  efficiency  is  secured  only  where  the  in¬ 
cumbents  have  had  appropriate  training  before  appointment  and  are  assured 
permanence  of  tenure  after  appointment  to  the  service.  Appointment  without 
competition  does  not  necessarily  prevent  the  selection  of  competent  employes.  It 
has  in  fact  in  many  instances  secured  well  qualified  persons  for  the  State  service. 
But  it  does  not  insure  the  selection  of  competent  employes  and  almost  invariably 
leads  to  retirement  by  reason  of  change  of  administration  or  other  incident  before 
the  best  results  are  obtained.  This  is  responsible  for  needlessly  recurring  waste 
in  the  mangement  of  the  State’s  business. 

The  Committee  recognizes  that  department  heads  and  other  policy-determin¬ 
ing  officials  must  have  deputies  and  confidential  secretaries  in  complete  harmony 
with  them  and  their  policies.  Such  persons  cannot  be  selected  through  examin¬ 
ation  or  other  devices  which  restrict  the  responsible  official  in  making  a  personal 
selection.  The  soundness  of  this  principle  has  been  recognized  by  the  constitution 
and  statutes. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  “appointments  and  promotions  *  *  *  shall 
be  made  according  to  merit  and  fitness  to  be  ascertained,  so  far  as  practicable, 
by  examinations,  which,  so  far  as  practicable,  shall  be  competitive.”  The  present 
classification  of  the  State  service,  which  is  intended  to  enforce  this  constitutional 
requirement,  contains  many  inconsistencies.  The  same  positions,  such  as  sten- 


25 


ographer  and  chief  clerk,  are  differently  treated;  being  exempt  from  competi¬ 
tion  in  some  departments  and  subject  to  competition  in  others.  A  proper  ob¬ 
servance  of  the  constitutional  and  statutory  provisions  requires  that  those  positions 
for  which  competition  is  admittedly  practicable  be  reclassified  and  placed  in  the 
‘competitive’  class.  This  would  secure,  among  other  things,  permanence  of  tenure 
and  thus  improve  the  transaction  of  the  State’s  business.” 

(D)  RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR  COOPERATIVE  STUDIES  AND 
EXPERIMENTS  OR  INVESTIGATIONS  THROUGH  WORK  OF 
COMMITTEES  OR  OTHERWISE: 

There  should  be  a  standing  committee  on  classification,  with  the  object  of 
ascertaining  and  listing  under  some  simple  acceptable  classification  scheme,  ser¬ 
vices  that  are  common  to  a  majority  of  the  civil  service  commissions.  After  in¬ 
vestigation  the  committee  should  define  classes  and  grades,  and  the  classification 
should  be  designed  in  such  a  way  so  as  to  enable  civil  service  commissions 
throughout  the  country  to  adopt  it  in  whole  or  in  part.  It  should  also  permit 
internal  variations  to  suit  local  conditions,  at  the  same  time  retaining  those 
elements  common  to  all  commissions.  The  scheme  should  be  an  internal,  expan¬ 
sive  classification  system. 

This  standing  committee  should  also  take  up  the  matter  of  minimum  pre¬ 
requisite  qualifications  for  entrance  to  examinations.  This  is  a  very  important 
matter  for  the  fixing  of  such  minimum  qualifications  tends  not  only  to  improve 
the  results  of  examinations  by  keeping  out  those  persons  not  properly  qualified  by 
training  and  experience,  but  it  also  makes  for  economy  of  labor  and  money  by 
lessening  the  number  of  candidates  to  be  examined,  and  in  some  jurisdictions  the 
overwhelming  number  of  competitors  in  certain  examinations  is  and  has  been 
for  some  time  a  very  serious  problem. 

Minimum  prerequisite  qualifications  fall  naturally  into  four  groups — (a)  age 
limits,  (b)  residence  requirements,  (c)  educational  requirements,  (d)  experience 
requirements. 

Allied  to  the  question  of  preliminary  requirements  is  the  question  of  adver¬ 
tising  examinations  to  the  best  advantage, — so  as  to  secure  properly  qualified 
competitors.  The  New  York  City  Commission  has  given  considerable  study  to 
this  question  and  reports  that  it  has  been  able,  by  careful  attention  to  advertis¬ 
ing,  to  secure  a  larger  number  of  qualified  competitors  than  formerly,  in  special 
and  technical  examinations,  and  with  a  smaller  expenditure  of  money. 

In  many  cities  the  advertising  question  is  probably  not  serious,  but  in  New 
York,  Chicago  and  Philadelphia  and  possibly  in  other  large  cities  special  efforts 
must  be  made  to  bring  technical  examinations  to  the  attention  of  properly  quali¬ 
fied  persons. 

SPECIAL  STUDY  OF  EXAMINATIONS 

Specially  designated  civil  service  commissions  should  be  requested  to  under¬ 
take  a  series  of  investigations,  covering  from  one  to  three  years,  relative  to  same 
one  assigned  class  of  examinations.  This  investigation  should  relate  to  all  of  the 
elements  involved  and  should  comprise  a  series  of  experimental  tests  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  bringing  examinations  to  the  highest  possible  degree  of  effectiveness. 
The  results  of  such  an  analytical  and  experimental  study  should  be  submitted 
to  the  National  Assembly. 

This  committee  therefore  recommends  that  the  executive  committee  of  this 
Assembly  be  instructed  to  confer  with  members  present  and  to  designate  the  vari- 


26 


ous  commissions  to  make  the  investigation  referred  to  above,  and  to  report  con¬ 
clusions  at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Assembly.  This  study,  however, 
should  probably  cover  a  longer  period  han  one  year. 

RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  EXAMINATIONS 

Civil  Service  Commissions  are  coming  to  recognize  the  fact  that  their  re¬ 
sponsibilities  extend  beyond  the  mere  ascertainment  of  ability  to  answer  ques¬ 
tions  in  writing.  Every  commission  should  be  able  to  say; — “Here  is  a  list  of 
eligibles,  everyone  of  whom  we,  as  commissioners,  feel  perfectly  satisfied  is  able 
to  fill  the  position  called  for.  Furthermore  we  feel  certain  that  the  persons 
whose  names  appear  at  the  head  of  this  list  are  preminently  qualified  for  the  posi¬ 
tion,  and  we  have  formed  this  judgment  after  a  careful  investigation  into  their 
character,  experience  and  ability  such  as  we  would  make  if  hiring  men  for  similar 
positions  in  our  own  private  business.” 

The  time  has  long  gone  by  when  a  commission  can  foist  upon  appointing  of¬ 
ficers  a  list  of  eligibles  prepared  in  the  dark  of  old  style  methods.  Such  lists 
contained  the  names  of  peisons  who  had  “passed”  an  examination  of  one  sort  or 
another,  but  concerning  whose  business  training,  experience  and  ability  commis¬ 
sions  had  little  or  no  knowledge.  It  is  one  thing  to  rate  a  candidate’s  answers;  it 
is  quite  another  thing  to  rate  the  candidate  himself,  and  right  here  is  where  the 
written  examination  fails.  In  preparing  a  list  of  eligibles  for  certification  to  fill 
an  important  position  civil  service  commissions  are  bound,  in  good  faith,  to  use 
every  practicable  means  for  ascertaining  fitness  and  the  rating  should  take  into 
consideration  as  far  as  possible  all  the  matters  which  a  conscientious,  able  and 
successful  business  man  would  take  into  consideration  in  selecting  men  to  whose 
hands  he- would  entrust  his  own  fame,  fortune  and  family. 

In  conclusion,  your  committee  takes  occasion  to  express  its  appreciation  of 
the  courtesy  of  those  commissions,  secretaries  and  others  who  have  replied  to 
letters  and  questionnaires,  and  to  say  that  it  believes  the  recommendation  made 
for  a  study  of  classification  schemes,  and  the  study  of  various  classes  of  examin¬ 
ations  by  different  commissions  to  be  of  prime  importance. 

F.  E.  DOTY,  Chairman. 
J.  C.  WHITMAN 
H.  N.  SAXTON. 


27 


Questionaire 

NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSIONS 

As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  “Cooperation  among  Commissions  on  Ex¬ 
amination  Standards,”  the  writer  has  been  requested  by  the  Chairman  to  prepare 
a  report  for  submission  to  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Assembly  to  be  held  at 
Ottawa,  Canada,  June  14-15-16,  1916. 

As  a  comprehensive  report  on  the  subject  can  be  made  only  through  the  as¬ 
sistance  of  the  practical  civil  service  workers  throughout  the  country  I  am  en¬ 
closing  a  set  of  questions  which  you  are  urged  to  read  carefully  and  answer  in 
detail.  If  these  questions  do  not  serve  to  bring  out  all  your  ideas  on  the  subject, 
please  discuss  at  length  any  phase  of  the  work  you  may  deem  worthy  of  em¬ 
phasis. 

Your  early  response  will  be  warmly  appreciated. 

Fraternally  yours, 

HAROLD  N.  SAXTON, 
Chief  Examiner,  N.  Y.  State  Civil  Service  Com. 

Committee : 

F.  E.  Doty,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Chairman. 

H.  N.  Saxton,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

J.  E.  Whitman,  Sacramento,  Cal. 

It  is  obviously  impracticable  to  attempt  to  cover  the  entire  field  of  exam¬ 
inations  by  questions  of  this  kind;  therefore  the  committee  has  limited  itself  to 
typical  examinations  of  the  following  five  classes: 

1 — Minor  educational  examinations,  such  as  for  clerks  at  $100  a  month. 

II— Special  and  technical  written  examinations,  such  as  for  civil  engineers 
at  salaries  ranging  from  $100  to  $150  a  month. 

I I I —  Special  and  technical  examinations  where  no  written  test  is  required  and 
candidates  are  rated  on  education,  experience  and  the  recommendations 
of  past  employers  and  possibly  on  an  oral  interview,  such  as  for  civil 
engineers  at  a  salary  of  $300  a  month. 

IV —  Skilled  trades  examinations,  such  as  for  carpenters. 

V — Examinations  for  common  laborers. 

I — Minor  educational  examinations: — 

Clerks  at  a  salary  of  $100  a  month. 

1.  Give  the  subjects  and  relative  weights  which  you  include  in  the  test  and 

add  any  others  which  you  think  should  be  included. 

2.  Do  you  give  a  rating  for  experience? 

(a)  If  so,  what  weight  does  it  have  in  the  examination? 

3.  Do  you  hold  an  oral  examination  in  addition  to  the  written? 

(a)  If  so,  what  weight  does  it  have  in  the  examination? 

(b)  Mention  the  tempermentaal  qualities  which  you  endeavor  to  de¬ 

termine  in  the  oral  examination;  and  state  your  method  of  determin¬ 
ation.  ' 

4.  Do  you  send  out  confidential  inquiries? 

5.  Do  you  require  candidates  to  pass  a  physical  examination? 

If  so,  how  are  they  examined? 


28 


1 

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